Book cover of The School for German Brides: A Novel of World War II

Book description

In this intriguing historical novel, a young woman who is sent to a horrific "bride school" to be molded into the perfect Nazi wife finds her life forever intertwined with a young Jewish woman about to give birth.

Germany, 1939

As the war begins, Hanna Rombauer, a young German woman,…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The School for German Brides as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Three very different women (Hanna, Klara, and Tilde) live in pre-World War II Germany. Two of them have families trying to achieve advancement by marrying their daughters off to German officers; the third is their half-Jewish dressmaker, who is trying to keep her status a secret from her clients.

What I loved is that we saw the politics of the time and place and the roles women were expected to fulfill. One of the women, Hilde, wants to become a physician; this is unacceptable to her family despite her gift for healing. That’s just one example of how social mores…

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A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

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